Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings, which fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts expected the computer giant to pull in $30.75 billion and $0.87 per share, and while HP’s first-quarter earnings of $0.92 per share beat the Street’s consensus, revenue dipped 7% to $30 billion and missed estimates. “In the first quarter, we delivered on our Q1 outlook and remained focused on the fundamentals to drive long-term sustainable returns,” said HP president and CEO Meg Whitman. “We are taking the necessary steps to improve execution, increase effectiveness and capitalize on emerging opportunities to reassert HP’s technology leadership.” HP anticipates its second-quarter EPS to fall between $0.88 and $0.91, below Wall Street’s consensus of $0.95 per share. Read on for HP’s press release. More →

Sales of Apple’s Mac line of personal computers slowed in April, leaving a question mark for analysts who have lofty expectations of Apple computers in the June quarter. Industry tracker NPD Group on Monday issued its estimates for Mac sales in the month of April. While the firm found that sales did grow compared to the same month last year, growth has slowed substantially. NPD says Apple shipped 9% more Mac computers in April 2011 than it did in the same month last year, but analysts are expecting shipments for the full quarter to jump 22% over 2010 to 4.2 million units. The decrease in growth is attributed to the fact that Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro line in the middle of April last year, but analysts obviously accounted for that when issuing estimates for Apple’s fiscal third quarter.

Speaking during an investor briefing on Tuesday, Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata said that sales of his firms new 3DS portable gaming system failed to meet expectations. “Sales of the 3DS have been weaker than expected since the second week of launch in the US and Europe,” Iwata said while discussing the device’s launches in Europe, the United States, and in Japan. Nintendo had expected to sell 4 million units last quarter, but sales fell short at 3.61 million units. Iwata said that he hopes sales will increase as much as 40% during the next year, AFP reported. We reviewed the 3DS earlier this month and argue that the gaming system doesn’t offer enough features to justify its $250 price point. More →

Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday reported its earnings for the first quarter of the company’s 2011 fiscal year, which ended on January 31st. Revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations slightly, coming in at $32.3 billion versus the Street’s projected revenue of between $32.75 and $33.59 billion. Earnings per share was up an impressive 26% year-over-year to $1.17, but it still missed the Street’s expectation of between $1.26 and $1.32 per share. Cash flow from operations was up 28% year-over-year, however, and profit was up 16% to $2.6 billion. “I’m pleased with our EPS and margin expansion during the quarter. Going forward, we have the opportunity to further capitalize on our customers’ demands for higher value-added solutions,” said HP’s CEO Léo Apotheker in a statement. “HP has a powerful portfolio, including exciting, recently announced cloud and connectivity offerings. We are focused on leveraging these strengths to extend our leadership and accelerate growth.” HP lowered its full-year revenue forecast from between $131.5 and $133.5 billion to between $130 and $131.5 billion. Hit the break for HP’s full press release. More →

Just one week ago, RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky sent a price target revision to investors upping the firm’s target for Apple stock from $365 to $395. Following Apple’s monster quarter, RBC issued a new revision — this time raising its target to $425. Apple’s conservative second-quarter guidance of $22 billion still beat the Street’s $21 billion, and Abramsky points out that Mac shipments grew faster than Windows PC shipments for the 19th consecutive quarter. The firm now expects Apple’s 2011 fiscal year revenue to come in at $99 billion, up from its earlier estimate of $90.8 billion, and FY12 revenue estimates have been upped from $103.3 billion to $108 billion. Abramsky also notes that while Jobs’ medical leave may have a near-term impact on Apple’s stock, the company’s huge momentum remains intact.

In a price target revision sent to investors Wednesday morning, RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky raised the firm’s target for Apple stock to $395 from $365. RBC also raised its revenue estimates, speculating that increased demand and new product launches would drive Apple’s revenue to $90.8 billion in the 2011 fiscal year and $103.3 billion in 2012. Abramsky’s revised figures put Apple’s first quarter revenue at $25 billion, above the Street’s consensus of $24.2 billion, and the second quarter will dip slightly to between $20 and $21 billion. Apple is expected to sell 3 million Verizon iPhones in the second quarter, with unit sales totaling 9 to 10 million in the calendar year. Based on the addition of the Verizon iPhone and strong demand for the upcoming fifth-generation iPhone, which is expected to launch in June or July, RBC estimates that Apple will sell 70 million iPhones in the 2011 calendar year — 19% of the estimated global smartphone market.

In a note to investors on Monday, RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky stated that Verizon Wireless may sell 9-10 million iPhones in 2011. The figure represents RBC’s preliminary estimates covering the 2011 calendar year. RBC’s projection is up to double the street’s earlier consensus of 5 million units. Abramsky notes that while Apple CEO Steve Jobs may make an appearance at the Verizon Wireless iPhone event scheduled to take place tomorrow, RBC does not anticipate additional product announcements. Previous rumors suggested Apple might also announce an iPad 2 compatible with Verizon Wireless’ data network at the event. Verizon Wireless is expected to announce the CDMA iPhone at a special press event tomorrow, January 11th, and BGR reported exclusively that the device looks set to launch on February 3rd.

The good news for HP, if a new rumor has any basis in reality, is that it apparently smashed its HP Slate 500 sales goals. The bad news is those expectations were seemingly quite low. HP’s Slate 500, which launched less than one month ago, is now backordered on the company’s website. According to rumors, HP had a limited run of 5,000 units ahead of launch last month. It then went on to sell a reported 9,000 units. Of course 9,000 units pales in comparison to sales of Apple’s iPad, the tablet by which all others are measured (regardless of how ridiculous comparisons might be). Last quarter, Apple sold over 46,000 iPads each day. On the other hand, selling 9,000 units of a product that sits squarely in a market that doesn’t yet exist is pretty impressive. The need for business tablets — much like the need for consumer tablets — is a need that manufacturers are doing their best to invent. The increasing flood of tablet offerings suggests they may succeed, and HP’s small victory so far with the Slate 500 certainly bodes well. More →